Red Sox price cuts should be extended

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The recent announcement that beer and some other Fenway Park concession fare will be discounted in April is welcome news. But, like a high fly ball caught on the warning track, it doesn’t go far enough.

During a recent radio interview, Sam Kennedy, the chief operating officer for the Boston Red Sox, hinted at the possibility of extending the discounts past April. “It is a small gesture. We owe our fans a lot more than that,” he said on WEEI’s “Salk & Holley” show. Kennedy’s right. Rewarding fans’ loyalty in good times and bad (such as last season) should be worth more than a one-month price break. And the cuts, while significant, only serve to bring the concessions down to the normal level, from entirely exorbitant. Under the discount promotion announced by Sox management for April, beer will be $5 (down from $8.50) and hot chocolate $2 (down from $4.25). Kids under 14 will be able to eat free before the third inning at specially designated concessions stands. And if you buy one $5 hot dog, you get one free.

As of next Monday’s home opener against the Baltimore Orioles, there will be a new team in town, representing a new spirit and potentially better baseball days ahead. But while hope springs eternal in baseball, it would be nice to tamp down the cost of nursing it along.